In recent years, communication networks have become popular due to the increasing need for exchange of information and data. A communication network includes communication devices that facilitate communication and exchange of data. Examples of communication devices include, but are not limited to, mobile phones, two-way hand-held radios, Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs), laptops and computers. These communication devices are linked to each other through communication paths for transmitting/receiving data. The communication paths can be wired or wireless communication paths. Examples of wired communication paths include optical fiber links, Ethernet cable links, and the like. Examples of wireless communication paths include radio-frequency (RF) paths, satellite communications paths, and the like.
The communication paths can operate using different modes of operation, for example, a full duplex mode and a half duplex mode. In the full duplex mode of operation, the data is transmitted between the communication devices in both directions at the same time. For example, in case of mobile phones, users can use the mobile phones to communicate simultaneously with each other. However, in the half duplex mode of operation, only unidirectional data transmission is possible between the communication devices at a time. The half duplex mode is used in different communication devices, for example, walkie-talkies, communication devices with Push-to-Talk (PTT) features, and the like, for transmitting/receiving data. The communication devices with PTT features transmit/receive data using a radio frequency or a channel. The data is transmitted to one or more recipients by pressing a button, usually a PTT button. A communication link is established between the user and the one or more recipients when the button is pressed by the user.
To maintain this communication link, the user needs to press and hold the button continuously. However, due to fatigue of holding the button continuously, the user may accidentally release the button, and thus break the communication link. Sometimes, the user may be unaware of this break in the communication link and may continue talking, which would disrupt the communication between the user and the recipients. Also, the communication link would need to be re-established to transmit data to the recipients. However, during peak periods of PTT feature usage, the process of re-establishment of the communication link could be highly delayed.
Skilled artisans will appreciate that elements in the figures are illustrated for simplicity and clarity and have not necessarily been drawn to scale. For example, the dimensions of some of the elements in the figures may be exaggerated, relative to other elements, to help in improving an understanding of the embodiments of the present invention. In addition, these figures are only logical blocks and do not represent physical forms.